(a) With the approval of the State Bank Commissioner, any bank or trust company in this State, whether or not organized under this chapter, may at any time through action of its board of directors and without requiring any action of its stockholders issue and sell its capital notes or debentures. The capital notes or debentures shall be subordinate and subject to the claims of depositors and may be subordinated and subjected to the claims of other creditors.

(b) The term “capital” as used in this Code and any other laws of this State relating to banking shall be construed to embrace the amount of outstanding capital notes and debentures legally issued by any bank or trust company in this State and sold by it. The capital stock of any bank or trust company may be deemed to be unimpaired when the amount of the capital notes and debentures as represented by cash or sound assets exceeds the impairment as found by the State Bank Commissioner. Before any capital notes or debentures are retired or paid by the bank or trust company, any existing deficiency of its capital (disregarding the notes or debentures to be retired) must be paid in cash, to the end that the sound capital assets shall at least equal the capital stock of the bank or trust company.

(c) The capital notes or debentures shall in no case be subject to any assessment. The holders of capital notes or debentures shall not be held individually responsible as such holders for any debts, contracts, or engagements of the bank or trust company and shall not be held liable for assessments to restore impairments in the capital of the institution.

40 Del. Laws, c. 149, § 1; Code 1935, § 2407; 5 Del. C. 1953, § 764; 63 Del. Laws, c. 3, § 4.